Lara + substandard gameplay = franchise, like the blood and guts from Mortal Kombat + substandard gameplay = franchise. There's no way that Mortal Kombat would be a franchise if it had the same MK gameplay, but the same look as Street Fighter 2 rather than being a gorefest... I mean just look at all the 16-bit fighters that didn't have a gimmick like that but did have substandard gameplay. How many of them turned out to be franchises?

Uncharted has the gameplay and the storytelling. If it had little to no story whatsoever, mediocre gameplay, and the same male lead, it probably wouldn't be a franchise. In that case, if you took out the male lead and put some boobalicious chick in skimpy/tight clothing, it would have a better shot at being a franchise.

A lot of it has to do with timing too. Mortal Kombat was released at a time where ultraviolence wasn't common in games. The original Mortal Kombat predated Doom by over a year, and came out just a few months after Wolfenstein 3D did... that's how far back we're talking about. Violence is certainly more common in games today. Lara is a bit of a mixed bag. I don't think female leads were ultra common back then. Further divide that by skimpy clothing and massive tits, and stick it in a style of game that wasn't common at the time(or maybe perhaps the expansiveness of the game, plus gameplay perspective), and it becomes somewhat unique. To me it was the gimmick more than anything that made those games franchises that still live on today.

Lara + substandard gameplay = franchise, like the blood and guts from Mortal Kombat + substandard gameplay = franchise. There's no way that Mortal Kombat would be a franchise if it had the same MK gameplay, but the same look as Street Fighter 2 rather than being a gorefest... I mean just look at all the 16-bit fighters that didn't have a gimmick like that but did have substandard gameplay. How many of them turned out to be franchises?

Uncharted has the gameplay and the storytelling. If it had little to no story whatsoever, mediocre gameplay, and the same male lead, it probably wouldn't be a franchise. In that case, if you took out the male lead and put some boobalicious chick in skimpy/tight clothing, it would have a better shot at being a franchise.

A lot of it has to do with timing too. Mortal Kombat was released at a time where ultraviolence wasn't common in games. The original Mortal Kombat predated Doom by over a year, and came out just a few months after Wolfenstein 3D did... that's how far back we're talking about. Violence is certainly more common in games today. Lara is a bit of a mixed bag. I don't think female leads were ultra common back then. Further divide that by skimpy clothing and massive tits, and stick it in a style of game that wasn't common at the time(or maybe perhaps the expansiveness of the game, plus gameplay perspective), and it becomes somewhat unique. To me it was the gimmick more than anything that made those games franchises that still live on today.

I totally agree with you 1,000,000% with Mortal Kombat. I have been saying what you just said for years. It seems you and I are in a minority though Nostalgia goggles and all that.

Even though I will reluctantly agree with you on your points about Tomb Raider, I have always enjoyed the games, and look forward to the new one.

Here's one for you though, would the Uncharted series actually exist today if it wasn't for Tomb Raider?

Considering the game just came out yesterday, I'm going to go ahead and guess that your friends made their minds up without actually having played it. If you look around the gaming community and check out reviews and such, you'll find that it's being universally praised as one of the best action titles this generation and an inspired rejuvenation to the series. Even a lot of the naysayers who had previously written the game off because of silly niggling superficial issues (such as Dante's appearance) have come around to acknowledge that they were off-base.

I'm only 4 hours in, but I'm completely engrossed by the glorious combat (dem combos) and spectacular visual design (limbo needs to be seen to be believed). The whole thing is completely enthralling, and it's already become the high-point of the series for me (and I say that as a long time fan).